Couple Gets $75.90 Bill for Wedding They Didn't Attend

After the cake has been wrapped up, the champagne popped and the chicken-or-fish dinner eaten, most wedding guests get a thank you note in the mail. But one guest recently got a bill instead.

Jessica Baker and her husband were planning on going and RSVP’d to a no-kids-allowed wedding a few weeks ago, but Baker’s mom called the day of the event to say she couldn’t watch the Bakers’ daughter, so they had no choice but to stay home, reports KARE 11 in Minneapolis. Then earlier this week, Baker received a bill for $75.90 — $60 total for the herb-crusted walleye she and her husband requested in their RSVP, plus a $7.95 fee per person for tax and the service charge.

“This cost reflects the amount paid by bride and groom for meals that were RSVPed for, reimbursement and explanation for no show, card, call or text would be appreciated,” the bill said.

Baker laughed as she told the story to the KARE 11 reporter. She said she has no plans to pay the bill.

Sure, weddings cost a ton of money — an average of $31,213 in 2014, according to wedding magazine TheKnot — but keeping costs down is primarily the job of those throwing the party, not those attending it. (People even take out wedding loans to cover the cost if they haven’t budgeted for all the expenses.) It’s often no one’s fault but your own if you put on a wedding that’s more expensive than you can afford. If you go into debt to throw a wedding, it’s important to make a plan to pay it down, but putting that on the backs of guests not only kills the spirit of celebration, most people would agree that it’s rude, or at least impolite.

On top of that, last-minute no-shows are pretty common, and while it’s reasonable to be disappointed some friends or family can’t come celebrate, few people go so far as to send an invoice for an amount owed. Most newlyweds find it hard enough to get thank-you notes to everyone within a timely manner, so delivering a bill within weeks of the nuptials is kind of remarkable.

What would you do if you got a bill like this? Would you pay? Would you respond to the couple at all? Tell us in the comments below.